South Africa mourns death of veteran Indian-origin politician Essop Pahad

Johannesburg, Jul 6 (PTI) South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday expressed his sadness over the passing away of veteran Indian-origin apartheid struggle stalwart and former Minister in the Presidency, Essop Goolam Pahad.
     Pahad died in his sleep this morning at the age of 84.
     Ramaphosa said he was “deeply saddened” by the death of the veteran Indian-origin political activist.
     Pahad retired after serving as Minister in the Presidency under Thabo Mbeki from 1999 to 2008.
     In that position, he played an influential role in the policy development of the fledgling democratic government started by President Nelson Mandela in 1994.
     “Essop Pahad was a thinker and strategist who brought his understanding of the human condition, injustice and inequality at the national and international level to bear on our transition to democracy and in introducing a democratic, non-aligned and activist South Africa to the global community”, Ramaphosa said.
     “Security crackdowns, banning and exile shaped Essop Pahad’s contribution over decades to our struggle and, as Parliamentary Counsellor to President Thabo Mbeki and Minister in the Presidency, to the early design and impact of our democratic state,” he added.
     The Consulate General of India in Johannesburg said Pahad would be remembered for his contribution to public life, his role in the struggle against apartheid and his advocacy for stronger ties between India and South Africa.
     Pahad was also a recipient of the prestigious Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award in 2015.
     Close family friend and fellow retired politician Ismail Vadi recalled that Pahad was a “behind-the-scenes” figure in the government who ensured that things got done as directed by President Mbeki.
     “But even as he held high office, he had a common touch. He maintained close contact with the grassroots and often took up issues affecting local communities in Lenasia, Johannesburg and Durban,” Vadi said.
     In his capacity as Minister in the Presidency, Pahad had overseen offices created to address the rights of children, people with disability and women, as well as the National Youth Commission and the Government Communication and Information Services.
     It was the second death in the Pahad family of five brothers shortly after Juned Pahad died last week.
     All the brothers were active in the anti-apartheid struggle, following in the footsteps of their father, Goolam Hoosain Ismael Pahad, who was a leading member of the Transvaal Indian Congress and the South African Indian Congress.
     His mother Amina was also renowned for her political activism.
     Pahad’s political career started in his youth in the rural town of Schweizer-Reneke in the then Transvaal province of South Africa when he became a member of the Transvaal Indian Youth Congress.
     Following his arrest in 1962 for organising a strike after the ANC was banned for five years before he went into exile, continuing his work for the South African Communist Party and the ANC, mainly from the UK.
     He served on the regional command of ANC’s political and military Council in London, before returning to South Africa in 1990 after the release of Nelson Mandela from 27 years of imprisonment as a political prisoner.
     Other organisations that Pahad served on included the organising committee of the first FIFA World Cup on the African continent that took place in South Africa in 2010 and as chairman of the board of the Mali Timbuktu Manuscripts Trust, that sought to restore ancient manuscripts in a library in that country.
     Pahad is survived by his wife Meg, two children and several grandchildren.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)